Sojourner's blog: "Warriors Unleashed"

I don’t know about you, but myself, I see idiots all the time on the valley freeways changing lanes with out blinkers, without looking because they are jabbering on their cell phones. I don’t know how many times I have been almost hit on my bike by some soccer mom in an SUV while she is chatting away on her cell drinking her caramel macchiato from Starbucks with 3 kids yelling in the back of her 50 thousand dollar four wheel drive piece of foreign crap. That has never and will never see the off road. OK, Yes this is an area of contention for me. I for one will vote for this law to be passed even though I am against more legislation on our lives. Will it cut down on accidents? Probably not. Will it give me an excuse to scream at the idiots who are doing it? Yup! Especially at stop lights when I rev my Harley so they can’t hear the conversation over my pipes. Ride Safe – MRI Voters could tell drivers to hang up By Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.22.2007 PHOENIX — Arizona voters may get a chance to do what state lawmakers will not: Keep motorists who are holding their cell phones from trying to steer the car at the same time. An initiative drive launched Wednesday would make it illegal for drivers to talk on their phones unless they are using a hand-free headset. Violators would be subject to a $100 fine; increasing to $200 if the motorist is in an accident. Organizers have until July 3, 2008, to gather 153,365 valid signatures to put the issue on the 2008 general election ballot. The drive is spearheaded by Bonita Burks, a resident of Maricopa who has some political background. She ran — unsuccessfully — for justice of the peace last year. "It's based on my personal experience," she said. That includes carpooling every day and watching other motorists. Among the concerns she observed, she said, were, "going off into another lane other than their own, or they're driving subsequently a lot slower, or a lot faster," she said. Burks said the effort doesn't currently have a lot of cash, something she hopes will change when the group puts up its Web site this weekend and solicits donations. If the plan makes the ballot, it will generate some well-financed opposition from the cell-phone industry which has successfully killed repeated legislative efforts to impose similar restrictions. Susan Bitter Smith, who lobbies for the companies, said all advise customers to use phones responsibly. But she said cell-phone use is no more a hazard or distraction than other things like changing the station on the car radio to eating a hamburger. Burks said even if that is true — something she does not concede — this measure is "one step" to make roads safer. "I don't claim to fix all," she said. A 2005 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety concluded that motorists who chat while cruising are four times as likely to get injured in accidents. But that study also concluded that using a hands-free device — instead of holding the phone — did not reduce the frequency of accidents. The study's author said that may show that distraction, rather than having the phone in a hand, is to blame

One step closer… I’ve spent the better part of the last two hours dreaming about my next project. I want to log the story of this one for prosperity… Last night I get this phone call from a friend. She is the self-titled “Tattoo shop counter bitch” for P.A.I.N. Parlor. The name is cool and that is another story for the owner to tell not me. Anyway, back to the story, she knows I laid Blackie down on Friday. So she asks me, “My boss has this Harley bobber frame under the back counter, you want to buy it?” OK, side bar…. I have been wanting to build a bobber like a S.O.B for the last few months. I love the Old School look. Back to the frame … I go by there on the way home from work today to check it out. Nice frame, straight and it has the rear fender too. Price is affordable. So it looks like I have te beginnings of a project that will probably last the next few years. It’s a 1976 XLCH – 1000 Frame. That’s a Ironhead Sporty for those of you who know. I have been searching the internet for a motor. Found one. Just don’t have the cash yet. I wonder how much I could get for selling my blood? They do that right? This scooter is gonna be low and fast. I have a few ideas for the paint. I am going to put the death dealer on the tank. The picture is in my photos. I love the Frazetta concept. A touch of evil with a touch of redemption mixed in. Now here’s another cool part. The artist who owns the shop, Manny, is a former Marine. And he does airbrush too. I love it how a dream starts to unfold. I am getting a 1400 dollar software program to design my bikes for free from a guy at work. He has a copy that is brand new. So, I am going to say this out loud and not just to the voices in my head…. I am going to start the business I have been dreaming of by the end of this calendar year. The name is going to be Cave Creek Custom Cycles. Or hopefully to be know as C4. Yeah, C4 like the military explosive. I’ll blog more about that later. So, to all of my friends who have been an encouragement to me to do something with my dreams and creativity, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Peace!

I'm grateful this is all that happened...

Minding my own business and enjoying the wind in my face on my way home coming up the 51 going the speed limit (65) and this fucking idiot flicks their cigarette out the window and it nails me square in the shades. Have you ever noticed how fire in your face makes you blink. Next thing I know is the dumbass dink is in my lane half a car length in front of me and almost stopped with no brake lights. I laid it down so I didn't rearend the wingnut. Laying a Harley down at over 55 mph really sucks!!!! One scrape on my scalp, a really sore left leg was all the damage to me. I spent 4 hours last night at the ER to make sure everything still works. Damaged the directionals and the clutch lever and all the housing for it and snapped my shifter. The years riding dirt bikes in my teens helped me learn to lay one down and slide. Thank God for the cold weather recently and that I was wearing full leathers. Thanks to my friends Bryan and Adam, I got Blackie home in the back of Adam's truck. Looks like I have some garage time to do in the next few weeks before I can ride again. Pray I don't shoot the next dink I see throwing their cigarettes out the window. Grrr.

I'm sitting at my computer this morning reading the news and drinking coffee like I do every morning and I come across a story of a woman found in Cambodia after living iin the jungle for 19 years. Strange. Like the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction. Then let's go onto the top headlines on CNN.com today: * Beautician jailed for deadly Mazola injection A woman is jailed for involuntary manslaughter for injecting cooking oil into the butt of another human being as an anti-aging treatment. WTF, over? What idiot would say, "Stick a needle in my fat ass filled with the same stuff I cook my fried chicken in so it doesn't look old." Stupid people should not be allowed by law to breed!!!! In the 60's, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal... It's going to be a weird day, I can see it already.

Have you ever seen the movie "A Few Good Men"? Jack Nicholson's character in the movie, Col. Nathan R. Jessep, is quoted as saying "And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something." One of the things I read in a book I am working on right now is: Barbarians are considered worthless when everything seems safe and secure but dangerous times make them invaluable. With our country fighting the war on terrorism, there have been a lot of protests. It's funny to see, because I talk to active duty military members every day. It's part of what I do for my job. There hasn't been one who has ever questioned the reason why we are fighting. That makes a good soldier, sailor, airman and Marine. The willingness to fight. The willingness to follow through on the mission in the face of danger. I salute those young men and women. They are my heroes. During WWII, there was a Marine by the name of "Manila John" Basilone. He was the first enlisted Marine to win the Medal of Honor. He was killed during the fight at Iwo Jima. But He won the Medal of Honor by inspriing his men during Guadalcanal by saying to them, "Come on you sons of a bitches. Do you want to live forever?" In dangerous times that we are in, the spiritual fights we go through each and every day, the world needs warriors. It gets dirty in war. Are you willing to fight that fight? Are you willing to be a part of the Barbarian Way? If you are, get yourself ready. It takes a lot to be ready for combat. The preparation to survive is much more than you can imagine. To survive you must be mentally prepared. Know your weapons. It takes training. Self-discipline. Trusting your "battle buddy". But combat is much more than just mere survival. It is finishing the mission. Accomplishing the task. Semper Fidelis - Always Faithful